The literature review: mapping and organising your research reading

May 7, 2012
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THE THEME TODAY: Reading purposefully and organising all that reading so it is: RETRIEVABLE HOW can we do this?
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We use reading strategies

Read with different skills for different purposes: oPreviewing (look at the title, keywords, flip through) oSkimming (for an overview) oScanning (to locate specific information or ideas) oClose reading (to extract certain detail) oReading analytically (text structure, categories,
hierarchies)

oReading critically (connecting new information to what

you already know)
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Reading to organise what you read DO IT LOGICALLY: SUMMARISE: Using the reading (text) structure ASSESS: Looking for categories, hierarchies, arguments and
organising them around your research area or investigative question

REFLECT: Making judgements about the significance

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HOW? THE INFORMATIONAL EXTRACTION

Two main ways for you to extract and then report. But first: have a purpose in mind which is? use the skill of focussing on the relevant issues leave out unrelated information. These two skills are very different, and require a different set of skills: Summarising and paraphrasing

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To summarise means that you:

condense the relevant information or ideas - end up with a summary shorter than the original text, but retrievable. organise the information: use the original text, or develop your own format. use your own words cite and give the reference.

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To paraphrase means that you:

report on the information so that the full meaning is reproduced. produce a piece of writing of the same length as (maybe longer than) the original reading use your own words cite and give the reference

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Special points to note about this process:

Specialist terms or theoretical categories or vocabulary are almost impossible to write in your own words. Some specialist terms or theoretical categories are in the common canon or general knowledge.

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A basic question: what is research reading analysis?

Understanding how the whole is made up of parts Deciding on what the essential elements are Understanding how the parts are related

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How do we analyse an article?

Use clues from: 1. Table of contents 2. Headings and sub-headings 3. Paragraph structure 4. Graphic organisers [concept maps] to show o Categories o Hierarchies
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[Reading] Academic Writing

Its not just sentences:
Uses headers and sub-headings, and uses bold and slightly larger fonts. These are visual cues to information-structure and help the reader to flip back if needed. Diagrams/images: not just inserted, use them to give a macroview and as a guide to rhetorical staging.

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Academic Paragraphs
Topic Sentences
A topic sentence is a brief sentence that identifies the main point that will be addressed in the paragraph. It is usually the first sentence of a paragraph. In a well-structured piece of expository writing, the topic sentences can give you an understanding of the content of the following paragraph.

Academic Paragraphs
The topic and the controlling idea:
A topic sentence contains a topic and a controlling idea. The topic is linked to the overall content of the section of the report, and the controlling idea is the main point discussed in that paragraph . The controlling idea provides the perspective or limits of the paragraph.

An example:
Topic: Education
Controlling Idea/s or Points /FOCUS Information technology Financial support Developing countries, women Topic sentences Education topic has been greatly affected by information controlling idea technology . Financial support controlling idea is essential in the development topic of an effective education program. Education topic for women in developing countries is controlling idea necessary to boost literacy rates .

SAMPLE JOURNAL PARAGRAPH

Less is known about how other financial variables such as trading volume and the informativeness of stock prices are related to market power. [TOPIC SENTENCE] Perroti and von Thadden (2003) argue that a firms dominant investors can limit the informativeness of its stock price by being opaque, which in turn mitigates product market competition [Elaboration 1]. In Stoughton, Wong and Zechner (2001), consumers infer product quality from the stock price, so a high-quality entrant has an incentive to go public to expose itself to speculators attention [Elaboration 2]. Tookes (2007) is the most closely related to our work [Elaboration 3]. She examines trading and information spillovers across competing stocks. She shows that informed agents prefer to trade shares in a more competitive firm, even if their information is not specifically about this firm but about a competitor. In her setting, agents are risk neutral and capital-constrained so they seek the stock with the greatest sensitivity to shocks [Elaboration 3 detail]. In contrast, we assume that agents are risk averse and characterize how the risk-return tradeoff varies with a firms market power [POSITION STATEMENT].

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We can use concept organisers

Visual representation to help you understand categories of information and how they relate to each other in your area of research reading What are some different types of concept organisers? mind map (shows relationships to central idea) tree or branch diagram (shows categories & hierarchies) flow chart (shows progression in a process) table or matrix (shows placement of items along two axes)

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Types of concept organisers

Branch diagram Mind map

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Using categories and hierarchies for research reading

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Using categories and hierarchies in everyday life?

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SAMPLE JOURNAL PARAGRAPH

Less is known about how other financial variables such as trading volume and the informativeness of stock prices are related to market power. [GENERAL IDEA] Perroti and von Thadden (2003) argue that a firms dominant investors can limit the informativeness of its stock price by being opaque, which in turn mitigates product market competition [Specifics 1]. In Stoughton, Wong and Zechner (2001), consumers infer product quality from the stock price, so a high-quality entrant has an incentive to go public to expose itself to speculators attention [Specifics 2]. Tookes (2007) is the most closely related to our work [Specifics 3]. She examines trading and information spillovers across competing stocks. She shows that informed agents prefer to trade shares in a more competitive firm, even if their information is not specifically about this firm but about a competitor. In her setting, agents are risk neutral and capitalconstrained so they seek the stock with the greatest sensitivity to shocks [Specifics 3 detail]. In contrast, we assume that agents are risk averse and characterize how the risk-return tradeoff varies with a firms market power [POSITION STATEMENT].

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You are doing all this organised reading to make judgments, or be critical:
As to the truth, merit, relevance, effectiveness, breadth, contribution of something to a particular field [or your area of investigation]. Its coming from an understanding of its informational structure. Its connecting it to what you already know or have read previously. And its to thus reflect on the validity and significance of information and ideas.
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Methodologies
For information-focussed, analytical, and relational research reading. Four methods may be used or adapted/combined to extract the information and then and organise your readings: descriptive questioning annotated bibliography the 5 Cs method using notecards/EndNote
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Descriptive Questionings: Method 1

In reading a research article, you could simply ask:
Who wrote the article and what are the authors qualifications? When was it written? Who is the article for? Why was the study carried out? What is the authors main point, or thesis? How has the author collected the data? What results were found? What relevant sources does the author use? What limits did the author place on the study? What aspects of this study are relevant to your research question/area?
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Or, you could use the ABSTRACT to glean info.

Use abstract sequence of moves or stages. Helps you focus very quickly on what you need to glean from the reading.

1. Area under investigation / Significance of the area 2. Problem addressed 3. Aims / Methodology used 4. Results or Outcomes 5. Implications of outcomes
relevant to your research question/area?

Organise your notes-taking around these ideas!

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An example applied from a research funding proposal abstract: Mining multiple information sources can provide rich knowledge which is difficult to discover by mining single data sources. ( reason for doing the work - significance) Comparing and collaborating multisource data for mining are critical. (problem or need addressed) This project aims to systematically investigate the theoretical foundations and practical solutions for mining multiple information sources (methodology suggested?), with the objective of delivering a unified multi-source collaborative and comparative mining framework (results). The expected outcomes are: (1) establishing the theoretical foundations for this emerging data mining research area, (2) benefiting key application areas, such as bioinformatics, business intelligence, and security informatics, and (3) helping maintain Australia's leading role in data mining research. (implications of outcomes)

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What is relevant here to my research question or research area?

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What is it?

The ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY: Method 2

It is a systematic review and record of all significant literature that you have sourced and read. It is designed to remind you of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources you have read and cited. Supervisors can set this as a task to be sure that sustained and informational/evaluative reading is carried out in a timely manner.

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The ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

What does it do? It briefly describes and/or appraises the sources. For describing: annotations usually summarise the subject of the source outline the authors argument, methodology and conclusions. For appraising: annotations may focus on the authors argument (persuasive? didactic?) the reliability of the evidence, its relationship to other critics its contribution to the field of research
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HERE, YOU COULD USE A SYSTEM:

INITIAL READING (first PASS) A. Author B. Date of Publication C. Edition or Revision D. Publisher E. Title of Journal CONTENT ANALYSIS (second PASS) A. Intended Audience C. Coverage D. Writing Style E. Evaluative Reviews

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The ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Suggested strategies I. INITIAL READING A. Author Author's credentials; institutional affiliation; educational background, past writings, or experience? Degree of cross citation? B. Date of Publication Too old? C. Edition or Revision A first edition or revised and updated to reflect changes in knowledge. D. Publisher Scholarly: university or commercial? Refereed; conference proceedings? E. Title of Journal Scholarly or a popular journal?
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Adapted from: http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill26.htm

II. CONTENT ANALYSIS A. Intended Audience Students, academics, researchers? B. Objective Reasoning Information valid and well-researched? Ideas and arguments in line with other works you have read on the same topic? Author objective and impartial? C. Coverage Updates other sources, substantiates other readings, adds new information? Extensively or marginally cover your topic? Material primary or secondary in nature? D. Writing Style Organized logically? Main points clearly presented? Text easy to read, or turgid? Author's argument: repetitive? E. Evaluative Reviews Look for these in libraries and on-line.
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What is relevant here to my research question or research area?

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Or, focus on the 5 x Cs Method 3

1. Category: What type of paper is this? A measurement paper? An
analysis of an existing system? A description of a research prototype?

2. Context: Which other papers is it related to? Which theoretical

bases were used to analyze the problem?

1. Correctness: Do the assumptions appear to be valid? 2. Contributions: What are the papers main contributions? 3. Clarity: Is the paper well written?

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It helps to jot down the key points, or to make comments in the margins of the paper, as you read. 1.Look carefully at the figures, diagrams and other illustrations in the paper. 2.Pay special attention to graphs. Are the axes properly labeled etc. ? Common mistakes will separate rushed, shoddy work from the truly excellent.

And, heres some extra advice for your reading

3.Remember to mark relevant unread references for further reading (this is a good way to learn more about the background of the paper).

University Graduate School (UGS) Adapted from Keshav, S. ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review 83 Volume 37, Number 3, July 2007, p.83-4

What is relevant here to my research question or research area?

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NOTECARDS & ENDNOTE: Method 4

READING PATH? How or What do you typically read first? Where do you start? What parts of a reading text or article can you use? Here are some suggested Notecard or EndNote headings: Abstract Key words/ideas Author/institution Publication Date References Key theories/methods/findings Topic sentences Connection to my work?
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What is relevant here to my research question or research area?

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Task & Discussion

Take one (or a few) of your readings and attempt to apply or adapt the methods which seem suitable for helping you to organise your research reading program: descriptive questioning annotated bibliography the 5 Cs method using notecards/EndNote Think and make notes about the ways or areas (at micro & macro levels) it connects (or does not connect) with your research topic, and note if it leads you on to any other ideas for reading further. If there is time, discuss what you have done, how, and why with someone else.
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Q & A - Discussion

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